Some dishes are so simple that a recipe seems like overkill. Baked chicken is a case in point: Isn’t it just chicken pieces seasoned with salt and pepper and baked? But to us, baked chicken begs a number of questions: What cut of chicken should you use? How long should it bake? What temperature should the oven be? We wanted to make perfect baked chicken—here’s what we discovered:
Stick with one particular cut of chicken for even cooking. And make sure the sizes are similar—packaged pieces of chicken can yield a variety of sizes.
Bake the chicken in a very hot oven (450 degrees) on the upper-middle rack. The high rack placement concentrates the heat and intensifies the browning.
Bake the chicken on the top of a broiler tray so that the rendering fat drips beneath, away from the meat.
Combine softened butter with minced herbs, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and slide the mixture under the chicken’s skin. Brush the top of the chicken’s skin with melted butter to enhance browning.
Gauge doneness with an instant-read thermometer to ensure that the meat is properly cooked. Remember, the chicken will continue to cook from residual heat once removed from the oven.
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